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Welcome to Part 3 of the 7 Most
Powerful
Web Traffic Creation & Conversion
Techniques PERIOD!
Today you will learn:
• Why Search Engine Optimization
is so difficult
• The #1 key to Search Engine
Optimization
• The scientific principles
behind search engines & search
engine optimization
• What search engine optimization
things to avoid
• Which search engine's are
most important
• How to get listed in the
major search engines
• Where to learn more info
about search engines
The search engine is a powerful
traffic
creation resource - it has been
said that
85% of all online sales start with
search
engines. But, I am sure you have
already
found that getting them to send
you traffic
is not an easy chore.
It used to be that a legitimate
business
could make a good living by putting
up a
nice site and submitting to a few
search
engines.
Somewhere along the way spammers
got
involved - the same people who are
filling
your email box everyday with offers
for
drugs & other services you don’t
want.
These shady characters realized
they
could make money by tricking the
search
engines & the people using them.
The search engines fought back.
In an
attempt to stay ahead of the spammers,
they constantly change how they
rank
websites. Now it is harder for everyone
to optimize their site. You have
to be
very careful not to do something
that
will get you penalized, and every
time
the search engines change you need
to
re-optimize your site.
Additionally, the big companies
saw online
sales opportunities and hired full
time
search engine optimizers. Many small
companies are also having their
site
professionally optimized. This means
there is more competition for the
best
keywords and that optimization is
even
more difficult for the "little
guy".
THE #1 KEY TO SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
The number 1 factor in search engine
optimization is the keywords you
choose
to optimize for. We covered this
extensively
in the last lesson. Basically, you
need to
focus on what I call the "best
keywords".
The best keywords are the emotional
benefit
filled terms that have: the most
number of
searches; the least amount of competition;
and draw targeted traffic that is
ready,
willing and able to spend money
on YOUR
product or service.
To find the best key words you
need to:
• Focus on the wants &
desires of your customers
• Research the terms using
the tools found
@ http://www.trafficology.com/research/
• Test the keywords using
a small Google
AdWords Campaign
This process helps you determine
the
exact phrases that draw the most
visitors
to your site who will buy your product
or
service. These are the terms you
need to
optimize your website for. Using
others
will be a waste of your time and
financial
resources - and will hurt your ranking
for
the terms that do draw "Targeted
Traffic".
What can I do to optimize my website
for
search engines?
Look, I am not going to kid you.
Every
month I read an updated version
of a 200
page eBook on Search Engine Optimization.
I cannot possibly cover everything
in this
lesson.
If you are ultra-serious, and you
want to
know everything about Search Engine
Optimization,
I will cover that information extensively
in
future issues of Trafficology.
For the rest of us who are just
getting started
and want to know the basics of search
engine
optimization - this lesson is for
you.
There are 2 things you need to
understand
about Search Engines. 1) They all
have a
different way of ranking the exact
same
page and; 2) They all don’t
want you to
know what their way is.
The result is we have to rely on
testing
(trial & error) to find out
what works and
what doesn't. When you combine this
with
the fact that all the search engines
are
constantly changing the way they
rank pages -
it makes it very difficult to keep
up.
For example, over the past couple
years
everyone was talking about "Meta
Tags".
They are special HTML code that
you place
in your website to tell the search
engines
what your site was about. For years,
all
the experts were going around telling
people
to use "Meta Tags". If
you asked someone
what is the #1 thing you need to
do they
would have said, "Meta tags".
Now "Meta Tags" are dead,
ruined by the
spammers. There are still good reasons
to
use meta tags, but in reality most
search
engines just ignore them.
The point here is not whether meta
tags are
good or bad. The point is that the
search
engines are constantly changing.
Unless you
want to devote a lot of your time
to keeping
up with those changes, it is much
better to
build a site with sound html &
good content.
Think of it this way, this is not
a game for
the search engine companies. It
is a business.
They are in the business of finding
the best
sites that relate to each keyword
and placing
them at the top of the rankings.
The search
engines don’t want "optimized
pages", they
want good pages that visitors will
like.
So, the first step in Search Engine
Optimization should be building
good pages
that YOUR visitors will like. This
is not
rocket science - just common sense.
If you
build a page that users want to
see, then
the search engines will find you
and rank
you - this is why keywords are so
important.
If you know what keywords people
that want
to buy your product are typing in,
then you
are more than halfway done.
To learn more about how to build
"good pages"
that both search engines & visitors
will like,
check out: http://www.trafficology.com/goodpages.html
Here is another thing to remember
about
Search Engine Optimization; other
than picking
the best keywords, there is no single
thing
that you can do to dramatically
improve your
rank.
The search engines use many factors
when
ranking your site. The key is to
understand
what those factors are, and then
tweak your
content rich "good pages"
for those factors.
Look at it this way, half the work
is
getting the best keywords - the
rest is
creating good pages and tweaking
them for
the different search engines. Sure,
there
are many tricks out there, but tricks
don't
last. And as every search engine
optimizer
has found out, it is only a matter
of time
until the search engines make your
trick
useless.
You can't build a sound business
on the
traffic from tricks. If you are
serious
about being successful take the
time to
learn the methods of how search
engines
rank your site. Then build a quality
site
that provides good content and takes
into
account the many different factors
search
engines use to rank your site.
So what are the factors? The search
engines
keep their criteria a secret; each
search
engine has a different criteria;
and they
all change their criteria's on a
regular
basis. We will provide a in-depth
coverage
of what factors search engines use
to rank
your site in the April issue of
Trafficology.
Until then, here are some factors
to focus
on when optimizing your webpage
1) Have a unique title for every
page
2) Make your title something that
describes the
benefits you provide & the wants
you fill
3) Use your keywords in your title
(not repeatedly)
4) Get a domain name with your keywords
in it
5) Use the <h1> & <h2>
tags and put your keywords in them
6) Put your keywords in the text
that is linked to your sub-pages
7) Use your keywords in the copy
text on your website
- and in a couple places make them
bold
8) Include your keywords at the
very top and very bottom of your
webpage
9) Include your keywords in the
ALT attribute of your <IMG>
tag
10) Include your keywords in the
TITLE attribute of your <A>
tag
If you have the right keywords,
you have
created a clean webpage with good
content
and you have followed the other
things
listed above then you will do fine
in the
search engines.
Heck, if you picked the right keywords
then
you really have to do something
wrong to not
do ok in the search engines. We
have already
covered picking the right keywords,
so here
are the things you need to make
sure you
don’t do:
1) Do not try to trick the search
engines
2) Do not repeat your keywords over
and
over again. Use your keywords in
a
natural sentence and where it seems
appropriate. Over using keywords
is
called "Spamming" or "stuffing"
and
the search engines hate spam too
3) Do not try to hide your keywords
4) Do not use frames
5) Do not use flash for your whole
site
(some flash is ok, but not for your
whole site)
6) Do not include words in your
images
7) Do not use too much JavaScript
Ok, now that I have optimized my
page, How
do I get into the major search engines?
Before we address that question,
we need to
identify what are the "major
search engines".
An estimated 95% of all web traffic
originates
from this handful of sources.
• Google
• Overture
• Inktomi
• AltaVista
• Open Directory Project
• AlltheWeb
• Lycos
• Yahoo
• LookSmart
• AskJeeves
• MSN
How to get into the Major Search
Engines
This is another thing that has
been ruined
by spammers. It used to be that
the major
search engines had a way to submit
your
site for free. Part of your search
engine
optimization process was submitting
your
site to each Search Engine every
month.
Then the spammers hit. They developed
programs
to submit their sites over-and-over
again.
The result is that most search engines
are
reluctant to use the free search
engine
submissions. Now, most search engines
want
you to pay or want to find you themselves
via
a link on another page.
The best way to get listed in the
major search
engines is to have a link from a
site that is
already listed. Then when the search
engine
checks the links on that site, it
will visit
your site and include you in their
searches.
I know this seems like a Catch
22 - but it is
actually quite easy.
If you have a site that sells a
good product
or has good content it is very easy
to
get someone to link to you. Just
go to your
favorite search engine (like Google)
and search
for something related to your product
or service
- or your town. Then email them
asking for a
link exchange.
For example, say you sell golf
equipment.
Do a search for golf courses in
your area.
Then email or call the webmaster
and offer to
put a link on your website if they
put your
link on their site. Then in 30-60
days you
should see your site in the search
engines.
This works especially good for Google.
Now, for some search engines you
must pay to be
included - for example Overture.
They are
completely Pay-Per-Click, so you
will only
be included if you pay. Sure, you
will be
listed with in days - but it will
cost you
cash. Other search engines have
what they
call the "express inclusion
service".
Basically you pay them a fee, and
they will
make sure you are listed within
a week.
To see a current list of search
engine
submission pages & express submission
links
visit: http://www.trafficology.com/submitlinks.html
One last thing on search engine
submissions.
I would NOT recommend using a search
engine
submission program. It may appear
to be a
good thing to be submitted to 6,000
different
search engines - but its not. The
ones listed
above are the only ones that matter.
My
experience with submission programs
is that
the only thing they are good for
is filling
your inbox with spam.
The search engines are a powerful
web traffic
tool. As we have shown, they are
an important
part of drawing paying customers
to your
website. With a little bit of effort
and a
lot of studying you can make the
search
engines work for you.
We will cover the differences
between the search engines and how
to get
the best rank for each in future
issues of
Trafficology.
In the next lesson of the 7 Most
Powerful Web
Traffic Creation & Conversion
Techniques we
will cover links and why they are
so important
to drawing targeted traffic to your
website.
Amy & Dearl
Editors, Trafficology.com
Trafficology: The Science of Web
Traffic
Creation & Conversion
If you found this information useful,
we would
like to hear from you. Please email
us:
feedback@trafficology.com
Research the "best keywords"
using the tools
found @ http://www.trafficology.com/research/
To learn more about how to build
"good pages"
that both search engines & visitors
will like
check out:
http://www.trafficology.com/goodpages.html
To see a current list of search
engine
submission pages & express submission
links
visit: http://www.trafficology.com/submitlinks.html
Read the entire April Issue of
Trafficology at:
http://www.trafficology.com/apr04.html
Take a 'Sneak-Peak' of the Trafficology
Private Members Only site today
for only $1
http://www.nitromarketing.com/trafficology.php
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